Although the Los Angeles Lakers were winners of their Game 3 matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies, Ja Morant came away as one of the main storylines. Morant had 45 points and 13 assists, most of it coming in the second half with him scoring 22 straight points for his team in the fourth quarter. This became a personal challenge for his primary defender, Jarred Vanderbilt.
Vanderbilt has become the Lakers’ go-to perimeter defender against opposing superstars. He’s guarded Morant, Stephen Curry and Luka Doncic, among others. And in L.A.’s Game 4 victory, Vanderbilt helped to force Morant into an inefficient 19 points on 8-for-24 from the field.
The Lakers wing discussed the change in game plan surrounding Morant and how he was able to go from a 45-point performance in Game 3 to 19 in Game 4.
“I think we were just getting into him. The gameplan today was to get more into him,” Vanderbilt said. “I think last game we started off good but we kind of took a body off him by going under too much, but I think today we just tried to be more physical with him pushing him over the screens and stuff like that, showing him more of a crowd.
“Even in space with whoever is guarding him, he’s super talented, so I think the thing was to just load the paint up and just try to throw a lot of bodies at him.”
Vanderbilt would often guard Morant the length of the floor, not even allowing the initial inbounds pass to head his way. He — along with LeBron James and Anthony Davis — would make it difficult for Morant to drive by simply packing the paint when he was in isolation.
He also credited the Crypto.com Arena crowd for their energy, which brought extra life to the team throughout the game when it was needed.
“It was amazing. I think they kind of brought us back in the game when we needed them. They got us going to start the game, so like I said, shoutout to the fans and everybody in attendance. They really got us going.”
Vanderbilt’s energy and effort was not just a defensive boost on Monday, though. He managed a series-high 15 points, including 10 in the first quarter with two corner 3-pointers.
“I think it was important for me to just be aggressive. Especially with how they’re playing me, so I think that kind of just set the tone. If they’re gonna do heavy shifting off me then I got to be aggressive and make a play or shoot the ball or whatever the case may be. So I think it kind of set the tone for how the game went.”
Vanderbilt will continue to be a vital player for the Lakers for as far as they go in the postseason. Defensively, being able to stifle the likes of Morant is something very few teams have to offer. And in any potential future rounds, the matchups won’t get any easier.
Davis not concerned about individual success
Meanwhile, Anthony Davis — who had just 12 points in the Game 4 victory — was happy to see the team success, valuing the win over his individual performance.
“I feel really good. I’m all about getting wins no matter how I do it, no matter how we do it,” Davis said. “Things aren’t always gonna be perfect.
“Sometimes you got to win ugly, sometimes you don’t play well but you’re still trying to leave your imprint on the game and that’s what I tried to do tonight on the defensive end. Had some good looks and missed them but still tried to do the little things to help the team win.”
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